Don't We All Love Summers?

So many big name players, so little time. So many big names were either traded or signed this summer, like Roenick, Jagr, Lindros, Turgeon and others, that we will go through the same thing again for next summer, or who might be traded before or by the trading deadline?To start, the big name that has been rumored to be traded is Jason Allison. He is just 26 years of age, he has the size, and he is capable of scoring 95 points. That is what makes him so valuable. I think the Bruins GM will still sit and wait until the Bruins go on a cold streak. What is there to lose in Allison? Nothing. You trade Allison you make yor team better, you don’t trade Allison it doesn’t make your team better, or you sign Allison and it makes your team better. Obviously, the Blues are the most rumored team that would make a deal for Allison. False? Possibly. Useful? Sure, imagine what can come out of Tkachuk and Allison put together. Stupid? Sure, why give up a trade bait for a forward when you mostly need a goalie?

So it all comes down to that whoever will get Allison will benefit depending if he was needed, if it was a fair trade, and obviously a steal. It would also benefit the Bruins depending what they get for Allison. O’Connell as of now has not done a good job as a GM, as said by many fans. Where should Allison go? Forget the Cancuks, the Oilers, or the Leafs…they simply cannot afford Allison’s salary. I would avoid the Blues, but the Stars are in need of Allison, and they can offer Morrow as a bait. The Wings? Who the heck would the Bruins get from the Wings? Why would they want to spend money on Robitaille, or on any UFA signed by the Wings? Is Wallin or Fischer and a draft pick and another prospect good? No, count the Red Wings out of the deal. I mean, the Bruins should not go for players on the Wings, but they could make that mistake. Florida could use a guy like Allison and they have the players to trade, but i doubt he will end up there. What about the Kings? Well, the Kings are not in good shape. They lost that Blake deal by a mile (why did they give up Reinprecht?) and they don’t have a dependable number one center. Who can they trade? Possibly Vishnovski. This is another useless rumor: Amonte for Allison. Well…hehe…if the Hawks don’t want to pay Amonte’s salary, then why would they want to pay Allison’s? Get it? There are still not many good rumors on Allison…but I think the Bruins should try and pull a deal off now.

Tony Amonte is one of the best USA born wingers in the league. He is still at a young age, and he too is looking to be traded. Any team could grab Amonte, besides the low budget Canadian teams and the Bruins. You can depend on Amonte, that is why he is so valuable. He can always guarantee you 30 goals a season, no matter where he goes. Probably, Amonte will not be traded until the deadline, which again it is a dumb move by the Hawks. GM Smith knows his team is not doing well and has a high chance of missing the playoffs again. So, he should look for a blockbuster deal that will give the team a better chance to make the playoffs. He cannot just sit there and wait, something that GMs do too often.

Remember, both Allison and Amonte are RFA’s next summer, so is Billy Guerin. What is wrong with Boston’s management? Oh yeah, O’Connell said that the tragedy of the WTC effected the economy so they can’t sign anyone……..Come……..on…..that is pathetic. Guerin is a Boston area guy, he was a Bruins fan and he would definitely love to stay and finish as a Bruin. Keep the damn player! O’Connell should be more than happy to have a player who actualy wants to play for his team. Give Guerin a long term contract. Guerin brings toughness, speed, and scoring on that team. He is an important first line forward. If you know you lost Allison, then you know you cannot afford to lose Guerin. He is not worth that much. I predict the B’s will re-sign Guerin depending how well he plays this season. Don’t expect him to be traded unless the Bruins won’t make the playoffs. Guerin is a keeper, and a team like the Devils could use him again too.

The Penguins are diagnosed with Kaspiritis desease. This team has got to trade someone. I think teams will be more interested in Kaspiritis than Kovalev. Why would they? “BECAUSE WE NEED DEFENSE!”. Ok, this whole situation has gone out of hand here. Why would anyone be interested in Kaspiritis? For defensive purposes of course. But, what does Pittsburgh need? DEFENSE. So why give up Kasper? “BECAUSE WE CANNOT AFFORD HIM!” Oh well booo….hoooo. Pittsburgh cannot sit there and wait for Lemieux to start scoring. Only a retard would do that, and funny how GM Patrick has been doing that too right? Waiting for Lemieux to start scoring would be the biggest mistake ever. This team needs the defense. The best thing for the Penguins to do, if I were in Patrick’s situation, is to trade Morozov for a solid defenseman, like Malik. I think the Canes would go for a speedy foward like Morozov. Malik is a big young kid, not too expensive, yet he will give what Penguins wanted. That’s all they need to do. Keep Kaspritis, trade a forward for a solid defenseman who will make the plays you want and your team needs. If Lemieux wants another shot at the Cup, then he better light a match behind Patrick’s rear end and start making him do things. If they don’t want to lose Morozov. Then don’t bother keeping Kasper, he should be traded already then, and he too is a RFA next summer.

Back to the Blues who are singing out of dispair. They are in definite need of a goalie. Again, Mike Richter is the player mentioned. Gee…hmm…too bad he got injured and too bad for the people who ignored him when coming back before the season started. Richter on the Blues will definitely give them a chance to win the Cup or go into the finals. He has been playing outstanding for a goalie who had two knee surgeries. Richter still looks the same to me, and yes he still does the split move which makes normal guys go “Owwww”, covering their mid section. But, Richter can’t be dealt at this point. Rangers don’t have a goalie who can be a starter, unless the Blues and Rangers can initiate a 3-way deal with another team. It is said and done that Dan Blackburn will probably be the Rangers future starter. As of now, the Blues should be looking for a goalie, and they are racing with the Canucks as well as Penguins for a dependable goalie. Richter is not going anywhere this season, unless Sather is sure to sign a free agent goalie next summer and trade Richter to the Blues. Richter is not for sale, but he is an Unrestricted Free Agent next summer, so he is a goaltender to watch.

Here is a good list of other UFA’s for next summer, it will get you excited for sure. Ed Belfour, Keith Tkachuk, Scott Young, Nicklas Lidstrom, Curtis Joseph, Felix Potvin, Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, Robert Lang and Teemu Selanne. Doesn’t this list make you go “Hmmmm” at the goalies and defense available? Messier is not going anywhere, so expect him to retire.

Eddie Belfour is in his last years as a Dallas Star. He is still a top goalie in the league, even if he has a very bad attitude. Expect Belfour to sign a one year extension or two. If he does not accept the Stars offer, then he will likely be traded (like the Sabres did with Hasek), or he will sign with another team, possibly the Blues might choose between Belfour and Richter, if he is available.

Keith Tkachuk will be a huge player to look at. If the Blues don’t trade him or sign him, doubt the Blues would let Tkachuk go by himself, then expect a lot of teams to try signing him. Obviously the Flyers, the Rangers with Lindros, the Stars, the Wings, and maybe the Leafs. Here could be a rare possibility for Rangers fans. If Sather makes a trade to land Jason Allison, then start dreaming of a line that consists of Tkachuk Lindros and Allison, deadly huh? Tkachuk is a power forward, one of the top in the league, yet so far he has been disappointing this season, and if he does continue to be disappointing, then his value will drop. Tkachuk will either have another exploding year, or he will keep his goal scoring balance to 30 goals a season, although if he does score 25 goals, then he is at a downfall of a powerforward, which makes him worth very little.

Scott Young is a player that any team would want to have. He’ll do whatever it takes to do anything the team wants him to do, score on the Powerplay. Any team that needs major help on the PP should go after Young, and expect the Blues to re-sign him…they need a guy like Young. He could end up anywhere however, and he will sign with the highest bidder.

I wish some Red Wings fan will explain what the situation with Lidstrom is. Is he going back to Sweden or not? Well, no doubt he is one of the best defensemen in the league, well the best in my opinion, and he has won two Stanley Cups and a Norris Trophy. I think that if the Wings win the Cup this season, Lindstrom will leave. If they don’t, then I still think Lidstrom will leave. Either way, Lidstrom is either staying in Detroit or going back to Sweden, nothing else to it.

Curtis Joseph is one of the best goalies in the league, but get it right, he is not the BEST. He would have won something if he was the best. Cujo is not worth 7.5 million a year, and I am starting to think that goalies will want more money in general, as Brodeur will be receving an extremely high salary. If Joseph will leave Toronto, he will not even be upset, he will just head to the team that gives him the money. Which team could that be? Again, the Blues could use Joseph. The Wings might go for a top goalie if Hasek wins the Cup and retires. I mean, you have three top NHL goalies here. Who will get Richter? Cujo? Belfour? Jospeh will end up on a Cup contending team. He is not a young spring chicken either, but he plays as if he is three years younger. Expect the Stars to even go after Cujo, or even the Rangers if they lose Richter. You can’t determine yet where Cujo is heading to, but if the Leafs want to stay in the playoffs and be a Cup finalist, they better write a check to Cujo.

Felix the Cat, what a doubtful question you’d get. I can summerize what Potvin’s future is in one sentence. If Potvin does well this season, he stays in the NHL, if he doesn’t then he still might end up on a team as a back up or he will not be in the NHL at all. That is why it was a good move for the Kings to sign a one year deal with Potvin. Will he stay? I think so, he is pretty solid and he can come up big at times. He sure is a useful back up goalie. But, if LA does not keep Potvin, then LA will also be in the category of which goalies to sign. Potvin has to keep his game up, he is an NHL goaltender, and he has to prove to the others that he is. I still believe in this guy.

Scott Stevens. I know it will not happen, but might he leave the Devils? Well, if GM Lou says that he does not have the budget to give what Stevens wants (pfff as if anyone is going to believe in that anymore) then Stevens is as good as gone. A good reason Lou would say is that Colin White is the Devils next Scott Stevens, which I think that youngster Mitchell would be soon (Wild). Stevens might even go to retirement. He won two Cups, and he should be the first Devils player to retire his jersey at Continental Airlines arena. Let Stevens finish his career as a Devil. That stadium looks so empty when you enter it. Stevens would end up on a rough team, maybe the Sharks or even back to the Blues. Imagine Pronger and Stevens. Scott Stevens is a tough player, but he is getting older as well, and it is starting to show. He has two more years, after this one, left in his tank, and I believe Stevens should get another chance to win another Cup, with a different team obviously (jokingly).

You will see Lang gone in no time, and that will melt the igloo even more. Lang is a good player, because any team would need Lang. Lang can be moved to any positions on any line. He will go for the money as well, and probably end up on a team that needs a good center who can score and play defense. I doubt Lang will get traded, unless Patrick wants to add more prospects, only if the Penguins are out of the playoffs and see that Lang will not come back, then they should trade him.

As of now, Teemu Salami does not taste good for the Sharks. This guy has to wake up, but he is playing on a team the is very fast indeed, yet very rough and solid in defense. Selanne needs a center to feed him passes. Sharks should look to land a player who can pass. Sharks were quiet in the off-season, but they will not be quiet during this season. Now you hear rumors of Kaberle for Rathje. Huge steal for the Sharks, yet Rathje is also a great addition on the Leafs defense. Then, the Sharks should hunt for Bobby Holik. This guys is made to play on this team and he will love it a whole lot more. It is a fast team, it is a very rough team, and it will pay him what he wants. Either way, they should be the top candidate to get Holik. Back to Selanne. Sharks should look for a center who can pass, and trading for a veteran won’t be a bad idea after all. How about Nedved? Nedved and Selanne could be the White Sharks of the team, but the baby sharks to be given away could come at a price, probably Jillson and Hannan. Selanne will not come at a high salary price if he does average or less than average. A team that should jump right in the UFA market for next summer are the Canadiens. If Koivu will come back, and if he is paired with Selanne, they got themselves a much better team.

It is early to talk about Unrestricted Free Agents, but that’s not the point of this article. The point of this article is to make sure you realize how important those players are, how big the trading deadline could be, and make you think of who might get traded during this season. So watch this season carefully then.